Cat owners typically have cat litter boxes in their home for the purpose of collecting cat defecation and urine in a clean and hygienic manner. In order to make the cleanup of these litter boxes easier and more hygienic, automated cat litter boxes have been made. These automated cat litter boxes employ a motorized rake apparatus which automatically rake the cat litter according to pre-programmed or pre-determined cycles. By raking the cat litter the automated rake apparatus deposits the cat litter into a waste receptacle. And since the cat defecation is compartmentalized in a waste receptacle, malodorous fumes are sequestered from the owner's home.
Unfortunately, these automated cat litter boxes have drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is when the cat urinates onto the tines of the rake. When a cat urinates onto the automated rake, the wet tines are thereafter pressed downwards into the wet cat litter. When urine or other liquids are mixed with the litter, the wet litter clumps to the tines of the rake. These clumps in between the tines of the rake prevent the dry granules of the litter from passing between the tines of the rake. As the wet tines of the rake stab directly into the litter, the conglomeration prevents the rake from moving forward sufficiently as the accretion of granules becomes too large. This is because the clump of cat urine and cat litter gets larger as the rake is pressed forward. An analogy would be a snowplow pushing snow in a blizzard which eventually must stop because of the sheer mass of snow which grows rapidly. With the automated rake, the large mass of piled litter forces the rake to retract back to its rest position. Thereafter, the rake cannot complete its cycle after several attempts.
In order for the automated litter box to work effectively the tines of the automated rake must be able to comb through the litter freely. In other words, the granules of the litter must be able to pass through the tines in order for the rake to be able to make it to the waste receptacle. This process is prevented as the urine bonds with the litter which prevents the individual granules from passing through.
Therefore, what is clearly needed in the art is an apparatus which enables the tines of the automated rake to remain dry and thereby enable individual granules of the cat litter to pass through the tines of a rake freely. In turn, the rake will not be impeded from reaching the waste receptacle.